With over 150 land, river, and sea journeys in over 70 countries, a rota of 5-star accommodations, and a history of exceptional guest care, luxury touring doesn’t get much better than Tauck.
Talk to anyone who’s been on a Tauck tour, and they’ll tell you they’ve been on at least five. Question a little further, and they all say the same thing: they travel with the luxury specialists repeatedly because “they just treat you right.” This is the 98-year-old company’s secret ingredient and a fundamental value underpinning its high-end operations.
A brief Tauck history
“Do the right thing” was the motto on which founder Arthur Tauck, Sn, and his successor and current board chairman, Arthur Tauck, Jr, built their empire. They had a simple view that happy staff and satisfied customers equals healthy business.
Like all start-ups, things started modestly when salesman Arthur Tauck, Sn. founded Tauck Motor Tours in 1925. He and six paying guests piled into his Studebaker Touring Car for a 1000-mile sightseeing journey through New York and New England. Everything—from accommodation to bellhop tips—was handled for a flat fee of US$69.00.
The meticulously organised trip was well received by his inaugural customers. Resultingly, demand from word-of-mouth referrals became so great that, by 1935, Tauck had branched out across the USA.
Same company, same values
Today, it’s up to the fourth generation of Taucks to maintain the company’s stellar legacy. Headquartered in Wilton, Connecticut, their operations extend far and wide, with land tours, small ocean cruises, and river cruises spanning all seven continents.
Ever the pioneers, Tauck was one of the first companies to cruise the Danube River in 1993, a journey that remains one of the most popular packages in their portfolio. Following the riverway through the Imperial cities and country towns of Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, and Germany, the Blue Danube river cruise is a great case study in what sets them apart from the rest.
The Tauck Difference
If you’ve ever wondered what it’d be like to dine like a royal beneath the glittering chandeliers of a Viennese palace ballroom, you’ll find out on this itinerary. Vienna is a major port for all cruise lines on the Danube, but an evening at Palais Pallavicini is as unique to Tauck as Sachertorte is to the city. A private evening viewing of Prague’s Lobowski Collections is also limited to guests travelling with the company.
On select Italian land tours, you can expect an after-hours visit to the Sistine Chapel and, in the USA, the same at Elvis’ Graceland. Exclusive access to tourism hotspots before and after opening times and behind-the-scenes access to otherwise inaccessible experiences is the company’s M.O.
It’s not just where and how you travel that separates Tauck from the rest, but also who you travel with. It’s a luxury to cruise with passionate and highly experienced tour leaders (they average around ten years with the company) and even more so to have staff remember your name, breakfast order, and drinks preferences after just one day on board. Good, old-fashioned personal service goes a long way.
Add to the exemplary service Tauck’s penchant for lagniappes, and they’ve well exceeded their ‘do the right thing’ motto. They’ve got an interesting name, but it’s a simple concept: lagniappes are staff-organised extras that pop up randomly during your trip. Some are as thoughtful as the pre-embarkation gift sent by mail, others as generous as a souvenir watercolour painting of Prague’s Charles Bridge.
All tours and cruises are all-inclusive in every sense of the term. Airport transfers, gratuities, and even coins for public restrooms are all taken care of, and when it comes to cruising, so are all of your on-shore excursion costs. It’s start-to-finish care that removes all stress from your vacation. So, once you’re there, you can travel with confidence to truly enjoy the journey.
Please call your expert travel advisor to find out more, or call Tauck’s Australian reservations team on 1800 962 043.
*All images by Monique Ceccato.
The writer Monique Ceccato was hosted by Tauck as a guest on this recent 12-day ‘Blue Danube’ river cruise.
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